Ohio Central Railroad System

Ohio Central Railroad System

An Ohio Central train in South Zanesville, Ohio
Reporting mark	OHCR, OSRR, CUOH, MVRY, OHPA, WTRM, YARR, YB, POHC, AOR
Locale	Ohio, Pennsylvania
Dates of operation	1988–present
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Headquarters	Coshocton, Ohio

The Ohio Central Railroad System is a network of short line railroads operating in Ohio and western Pennsylvania. It is owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc.

Headquartered in Coshocton, Ohio, the system operates 500 miles (800 km) of track divided among 10 subsidiary railroads. Most of the system's routes were divested from Class I railroads and connect industries to the Class I railroads.

The Ohio Central operates on track owned by other entities, including a line from Newark, Ohio to Mount Vernon, Ohio owned by CSX Transportation and the old Panhandle Route, owned by the State of Ohio.

Ohio Central's rail system comprises

As well as being a regular revenue railroad, the Ohio Central has its own steam department that operates steam locomotives for tourist trains, excursions and special events.

Steam locomotives The Ohio Central Railroad System owned and operated several steam locomotives. When Jerry Joe Jacobson sold OCRS in 2008, he maintained the ownership of the antique equipment including the collection of steam locomotives. He built a large roundhouse in Sugarcreek, Ohio, called the Age of Steam Roundhouse to house that equipment including the following:

Operational:

Awaiting restoration:

Former engines:

On August 5, 2008, Genesee and Wyoming Inc announced an agreement to purchase the Ohio Central System for $219 million. Approval was granted by the Surface Transportation Board on December 30, 2008.

^ A: formerly the Pittsburgh Industrial Railroad, a 42-mile (68 km) line from Arden to Neville Island, Pennsylvania. The Ohio Central purchased this line from RailAmerica, in December 2000 for $7.7 million. In 2005, the State of Pennsylvania awarded $2.1 million to repair flood damage along this line.